<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by travelmad478:
Wow. The amount of subtle and overt racism contained in this discussion is quite amazing. For the last five years, I've been traveling to India frequently, had extensive dealings with the companies that run call centers there, and worked closely with Indian employees of many financial and IT firms. In no instance would I characterize these people as lacking in "intuitive problem solving" skills. Contrary to what appears to be public opinion here, India's 1+ billion population has a lot more entrepreneurial, creative, energetic individuals than any country I know.
In sharp contrast to employees in the US, Indian call center staffers tend to be well educated and highly motivated. A call center job in India pays well and offers a superior work environment to many other options open to Indian college graduates. As such, competition for these positions is substantial. Compare that to the motivation and education level of some $6.50-per-hour employee in Tulsa. Who do you think is better equipped to solve complex problems?
I for one have found that the move to staff call centers with Indian employees has improved, not downgraded, the customer service experience. In fact, one situation I had last year illustrated this neatly: I had a severe computer problem that led me to spend several hours on the phone with tech support from Dell (in Bangalore) and Verizon (in the US). The Verizon staffer was more interested in getting me off the phone than actually solving my problem, telling me several times that "oh, you'll have to call Microsoft/Dell/XXX to fix that." In complete contrast, the Indian-based Dell staffer was immeasurably more creative and helpful. In fact, he went so far as to offer and follow through with a call back to me after I had spent another hour on the phone with Verizon. This person was so good that for the first time in my life, I went so far as to write a letter to Dell commending him. When's the last time a low-paid, ill-trained, gum-chewing American call center employee made you feel that positive?</font>
So, we voice OUR honest opinions and experiences with Indian call centers and we are called racists, so then you go ahead and post this:
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When's the last time a low-paid, ill-trained, gum-chewing American call center employee made you feel that positive?
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Great way of joining the discussion. You may have noticed that several of the people in this discussion are very closely linked to the call center business themselves or have actually, just like yourself had real time experience in working setting up a call center there. It's all about opinion and experience.
Dell is a good example of how it CAN be done but don't base your opinion on just ONE agent. Every call center has it's ace agents.